Nottingham Panthers won their fourth game out of four in Coventry this season, thrashing Coventry Blaze 6-1 on Sunday night.
“We had a bit of a tough start but we expected Coventry to come out playing hard. We managed to curb that and then were able to produce offensively,” said Panthers’ Kevin Carr.
Blaze started the brighter of the two sides, creating the majority of the early chances, but nothing found a way past Carr.
Ross Armour was sent to the penalty box with 8:10 left in the opening period, giving Blaze a powerplay, but it proved costly for the hosts. Just 12 seconds in, Matt Spencer and Chase Pearson broke away shorthanded, with Pearson finishing Spencer’s rebound past Mat Robson.
Only 24 seconds later, Nolan Volcan and Pearson broke away again and Volcan finished the play himself to double the lead.
Pearson added his second of the night with 4:18 remaining in the period, beating Robson five-hole to make it 3-0.
“We came out pretty good to be honest for the first few shifts, created three good scoring chances and then they got two shorthanded goals,” explained Blaze’s David Clements. “They got the third one off a tip and when you’re three down after not playing that badly, it deflates you a bit.”
Panthers extended their lead midway through the second period. Quick passing between Mitch Fossier, Pearson and Cooper Zech opened up space for Fossier to finish and make it 4-0.
Blaze responded with a spell of pressure, but Carr continued to stand firm in goal. Grayson Constable came closest to pulling one back late in the period, but his shot was turned away by Carr’s helmet.
Tim Doherty made it 5-0 at 46:07 with a close-range finish, before Matt Marcinew added Panthers’ sixth less than 90 seconds later.
“We know the Cup Final will be a very different kind of game,” added Carr. “Everyone is jacked up when there’s a trophy on the line.”
Grant Mismash broke Carr’s shutout with 5:09 remaining to score a consolation goal for Blaze.
“Nottingham managed the game really well. We’re not going to let it deflate us, it’s just one of those that happens now and then,” added Clements. “We have a group of guys in our room that care. At times tonight we maybe looked a bit tired, so next week we need to play a simple game and pick up some momentum heading to the Cup Final.”
Photo: Scott Wiggins